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Ukraine: After Pandora, Yves Rocher and H&M, Zara resumes partial operations
Pandora and Yves Rocher re-opened in Ukraine after suspension at the start of the war, followed by Sweden’s Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) with 7 of 8 stores in Ukraine for Kyiv and Lviv...
13 March 2024
Troubled Maisons du Monde relies on Google’s AI to keep e-commerce afloat
Maisons du Monde is unveiling a recovery plan, that focused on a new franchising model. Meanwhile, it is taking stock of how to use AI to improve performance, including digital acquisition...
[mind Retail Exclusive] Carrefour disengages from Africa
According to our sources, Carrefour is progressively withdrawing from Africa, which began in 2013 with the creation of a joint venture between CFAO (55%) and itself (45%). In...
Retail tech: What are the best-performing vendor technologies?
As retailers struggle to retain staff amidst more volatile demands from consumers, tech platforms refining vendor businesses are innovating in all areas. These include task planning, messaging...
7 March 2024
[confidential] Skello relies on Open-Ai to speed up the creation of sales schedules 
From March onwards, Skello, which specialises in scheduling tools for in-store team members, will be integrating a generative AI function. After launching quarter-hourly planning in the summer of...
After Kiabi, Primark prepares to enter India
Primark and Kiabi, two European giants in the low-price fashion sector, are looking to expand into the Indian fashion market. mind Retail takes a look at their respective strategies.
7 March 2024
Alshaya closes nearly half of stores in Egypt’s troubled economy
After 18 years in Egypt, Kuwaiti operator Alshaya decided at the start of 2024 to cut more than 40% of its local business, closing 60 of 145 local stores in the coming weeks. The lay-off plan...
7 March 2024
Regulatory : Vietnam wants to revitalise shopping streets
Five years after the creation of the CPTPP trade agreement with the U.K., Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Mexico and Peru, Vietnam is...
6 March 2024
Lulu Group to build a major mall of 288,000 sq.m in Ahmedabad  
In 2024, Abu Dhabi-based retailer Lulu Group (global annual turnover of US$7.3 billion in 2023) plans to build one of India’s largest malls. Located in Ahmedabad it will cover 288,000 sq.m...
5 March 2024
Aramco strengthens in South America with the takeover of Esmax
On 1 March 2024, Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco (valued at US$7.62 billion) acquired Chile’s Esmax Distribucion SPA from the Southern Cross Group (100% buyout, amount not disclosed). The...
5 March 2024
Jérémie Levy, Converteo: “Generative AI prices are not easy to read or to budget for: we’re dealing with probabilism”
Converteo, whose almost 50% of revenue comes from the retail, beauty and luxury sectors, supports retailers in collecting, modelling, measuring and activating data. Jérémie Levy, Managing...
Travel retail: China wants South-East Asia to become a visa-free zone
China is stepping up the number of agreements with neighboring countries, to relax or even lift visa policies. Since March 1, 2024, citizens of China and Thailand can travel to the other country...
1 March 2024
EU: sustainability due diligence directive blocked by France, Germany and Italy
The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive has failed to win support from the qualified majority of member states needed to reach the final vote in the European Parliament. The...
USA: Ikea wants to take advantage of falling valuations and acquire more malls
While e-commerce has plateaued at around 25% of sales for the past 2 years, Ingka Group (total sales €47.6 billion in 2023, up by 6.6%) is stepping up property investments. Last week, Cindy...
1 March 2024
Temu wants to open a digital marketplace to American sellers
The e-commerce platform Temu (a subsidiary of PDD Holdings, Pinduoduo’s parent company), known for low-value products, is expanding considerably. By October 2023, Temu was selling into 47...
Electronics: Currys to be taken over by China’s JD.com?
After selling off the Greek business in November 2023 and cutting operating costs, Currys PLC (€4.9 billion turnover in 6 months to the end of October 2023) could receive a takeover bid from...
27 February 2024
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Most viewed articles of the month on mind Retail
What readers clicked on the most last month.
What readers clicked on the most last month.
1
Eric Meulien, Al Futtaim: “The next step in our roadmap is to replace the in-store POS system”
Operating in 18 countries and managing brands such as Ikea, Zara and Marks & Spencer, Emirati group Al-Futtaim (2025 revenue: US$9.7 billion, up by 6%) has a unique vantage point from which to...
2
Marketplaces: How Orange and Virgin Australia reinvent their value creation models
Looking to turn their audience into a commercial platform without having to carry the risk of holding stock, new verticals are entering the marketplace space, with new models designed to enhance...
8 October 2026
3
How Maison A.Constant built a unified customer database with n8n
Eager to bring together customer data and improve data accuracy, jewellery and watch retailer Maison A.Constant built its own Single Customer Repository (SCR) using n8n, an orchestration platform...
4
Cashback: Younited secures an exclusive contract with Bouygues Telecom
Following Orange and the launch of a marketplace, Bouygues Telecom is strengthening a customer loyalty strategy by focusing on purchasing power with a new cashback offer. For French fintech...
16 October 2026